


Powers, Pictures, and Pizza

by StillNotGinger10



Series: Blogger Barry AU [1]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Magic, Barry is in college, M/M, Metahuman Leonard Snart, blogger Barry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-28 22:40:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13913655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StillNotGinger10/pseuds/StillNotGinger10
Summary: The Fastest Man Alive. It's the title of blog Barry started as a teen when he discovered he had superpowers. It's also the only name people know to call the speedster that runs around the country taking selfies to post online. The blog seems like harmless fun until it draws the attention of the unstoppable thief that's been leaving nothing but ice in his wake.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is the first of three chapters. I'm posting chapters one and two together because the first one is more telling than showing. I'll post the last chapter this weekend.
> 
> Thanks to Batsutousai for beta reading for me! You're the best! <3
> 
> I'm not happy with the summary or title, so if anyone has suggestions for improvements, please let me know. :)

Everyone was capable of magic. Everyone could do spells if they learned the theory and practiced. Some were luckier than others and could do more complex and powerful spells. But Barry knew that there was more magic in the world than just witchcraft. Some people were capable of more than just the basic spells taught in high school, the more specialized magic taught in college, and the rituals stored away in books. Barry knew that some people, a lucky few, were given powers, the kind written about in comics and fiction.

His blog started, in high school, as a record of unexplained events. Occurrences where the current understanding of Science and Magic couldn't explain what had happened. Incidents where Barry was sure someone with powers had appeared. Barry knew they were real. He'd seen one when he was eleven.

A man shrouded in lightning had killed his parents. He hadn’t seen Barry from where he stood on the staircase, but Barry had seen him. The only problem was that no one had believed him. They refused to look for someone who could move at incredible speeds or someone who could control lightning. Barry wasn't sure what the man’s power was exactly, but he knew it wasn’t normal.

Since no one would believe him, Barry investigated on his own. He sought out incredible stories like his, and he shared them online.

Then, when he was eighteen, Barry became supernatural himself.

He woke up one day able to run faster than any car, trailing lighting behind him as he zoomed across town.

The only person he told was Iris, his best friend, foster sister, and the one that inspired him to start his blog in the first place. She was the only one who believed him about his parents. She was the only one who didn't mock him for his beliefs or look disappointed when he spoke about them. She was the only one he wanted to share his power with.

He tried telling Joe, Iris’s father and his foster father. He got Joe alone and told him he had something important to share, but when he opened his mouth, when he tried to say _ ‘I have powers,’  _ he couldn’t do it. He remembered what he had noticed down at the precinct when watching detectives run their investigations, how they adamantly ignored any evidence that pointed towards someone having powers. All of the detectives refused to believe it, Joe included. If Joe couldn’t believe Barry about his parents, if he couldn’t believe evidence of the supernatural when it showed up in a case, how would he believe Barry now?

So he got Joe alone, built up to the speech he’d practiced a million times with nervous fidgeting and anxious rambling, and when the time finally came to just  _ say _ it, Barry froze. He hesitated too long and then blurted out that he was bi instead. He hadn’t realized he was more ready to share his sexuality with Joe than his powers until that moment.

It went well at least. Joe had smiled and told Barry that if he hadn’t figured that out after hearing Barry and Iris rank both Black Widow and Captain America’s asses while watching Winter Soldier, then he should find a new career. Barry had blushed and laughed and left the conversation as quickly as he could. He never found the courage to tell Joe his other secret.

Instead of confiding in anyone other than Iris, Barry transformed his blog. It was still about supernatural powers, but now it was more autobiographical. Barry anonymously shared his trials with learning to use his speed. He wrote about himself and asked anyone like him to share their experiences, even to just message him privately. He wanted so desperately to know that he wasn't alone.

He didn’t get much traffic at first, but he did manage to connect to one metahuman (as he eventually began to call them) named Cisco. Cisco had even more trouble gaining control of his powers than Barry. Unlike Barry, he’d never considered that people could do more than witchcraft, so he was confused and unprepared for his dreams to start coming true, for him to know where someone was just by touching something personal to them, for portals to spring open from his hands.

He found Caitlin before he found Barry. She could make ice from thin air. Her boyfriend, Ronnie, could do the same with fire. They helped Cisco and grew close through their shared secret. When Cisco found Barry’s blog, he immediately welcomed him into their group. Finding people like him was like coming home. From the start, they all acted as though they’d been friends forever.

That didn’t diminish Barry’s friendship with Iris, though. She would always be his best friend, and she was as fascinated by the metahumans as Barry was. Cisco, Caitlin, and Ronnie were a little wary at first, but eventually made Iris feel just as welcome as Barry.

Cisco helped Barry with his blog, but didn't want to be featured on it. The others didn't either. They didn't know how people would react, and weren’t eager to find out. Most people who found his blog thought he was making the whole thing up, so it was no wonder that his blog eventually turned into post after post of him proving that he had power.

It started simply enough. Someone sent him a message saying that he was faking and practically dared him to run to the Star City bridge and take a selfie there to prove that he had super speed. Frustrated by all of the doubt and antagonism he constantly received, Barry gave in. He ran to Star City and took a selfie next to the bridge. Months before, Cisco had made him a suit that wouldn't burst into flames like his clothes did when he ran. By then, they were in college, and it was easy for Cisco to find materials to help his friend. The best part was that the suit covered most of his face, so Barry didn't have to worry about anyone recognizing him in the picture.

He posted the selfie, and then started receiving request after request. He took selfies in Metropolis, Gotham, and even Central, his home. He didn't take every request, but posting some selfies led to an incredible amount of traffic for his blog.

Eventually, Barry considered being more honest about his abilities. He now had a blog full of proof, and friends that showed he wasn't as rare as he thought. It seemed like the perfect time to tell Joe. But then other metahumans started showing up. A man who could control ice, like Caitlin, another flames, like Ronnie, and brothers that could control the weather. Some news stations and police officers treated these cases as though the idea were ridiculous. Others, the ones who admitted that there could be people with powers, were convinced that metahumans were criminals. All of them.

Joe believed the latter. He finally believed Barry about the impossible, but he believed anyone who could do the impossible must be a villain. The world couldn't conceive of heroes that weren’t normal, weren’t police, weren’t the people they already trusted to help them.

More and more metas appeared, and more and more often they committed crimes. Why shouldn't they? It was the only thing that was expected of them.

No, Barry couldn't tell Joe.

By the time Barry was a senior in college, he wondered what he was going to do with his degree. Could he join the CCPD, who were so determined to put people like him away? What was the point in being a CSI when it was too late to find evidence related to his parents’ murder? Even if he could prove they were killed by a speedster, what would it change when people now believed in metas but thought them evil? What else could he do though? Running a blog wouldn't pay the bills.


	2. Chapter 2

Opening his laptop, Barry signed into his blog. The title _The Fastest Man Alive_ blazed across the top of the screen, and the icon in the top right corner told him that he had more messages.

The closing song of _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ played in the background as Barry read the messages at super speed. He and Cisco were celebrating Halloween a little early with a movie marathon.

“Anything good?” Cisco asked from his seat next to Barry on the couch.

“Not really,” Barry said, scrolling down the list. “Most are places I’ve already taken pictures from.” Just as he finished speaking, a new message popped into his inbox. “Hold on, just got another.”

Cisco leaned over to read it too. He whistled. “That’s a new one. Think you could do it?”

Could he run into Central City Museum and take a picture from inside the new exhibit that wasn't set to open for another week? Maybe. He’d never done a challenge that required getting past alarms before. The museum was closed and no one would be able to see him run in, not if he was careful about his route. It was tempting, but it was also a bad idea. Illegal. Harmless.

“It would be a good opportunity to try out phasing through walls thicker than the ones in our apartment,” Barry said, looking at Cisco hesitantly.

“It’s just a picture. Not like you’d be hurting anything,” Cisco said, looking just as unsure yet excited as Barry felt.

“Start getting the next movie ready,” Barry said, gesturing to the DVD of _Halloween_ sitting on the table. “I’ll be back before the menu screen even finishes loading.” He stood with a grin. _This_ was the sort of challenge he’d been waiting for. He sped into his suit before running out of the door and towards the museum.

* * *

The museum was just as empty as he anticipated. He phased through a wall without problem—and made a mental note to tell Caitlin in the morning as she was monitoring his speed’s progress—and ran to the new exhibit without the security guards seeing even a spark of his lighting.

But when he stepped into the room, he saw something that made him stop short.

He wasn't alone.

There was a man standing in front of one of the paintings on display. Normally, that wouldn't have stopped Barry. He’d have found somewhere to stop out of sight, taken his picture, and raced off again, but the man wasn't just anyone. Barry could tell that from one glance. The man’s hand was smoking. No, there was steam rising from it because it was encased in ice, exactly like how Caitlin’s looked sometimes. This man was a metahuman.

Barry slid to a stop in front of him.

“You’re like me,” he said, looking in the man’s eyes, or trying to at least. He wore dark goggles that hid half of his face, including his eyes. The hood of his blue parka was drawn around his face, the white fur lining obscuring more of Barry’s view.

“I am,” the man said. “You’re impressive, Fastest Man Alive. You breezed through security like it was nothing. It took you one minute and forty-two seconds.”

He’d counted? Barry didn't know how to react to that, but that never stopped his mouth from running away from him. “Sorry I took so long. Traffic is awful.”

The man smiled, finally allowing his face to slip out of the impassive stare he’d worn so far. “We’ll work on your punctuality once you join my team.”

His team? His team for what?

“With you on my side, the world will be ours for the taking.” The way he looked around at all of the paintings in the hall, as though they already belonged to him, as though he just needed to take them down, take them home, reached something in Barry. How did it take him this long to realize?

“You’re Captain Cold.” The media may not be naming the metas, but Cisco was. Iris planned to write about all of them and help spread not only knowledge about them, but also Cisco’s nicknames. Cisco was convinced they’d stick and he’d be given the job of naming them by the biggest news stations. At the moment, though, no one outside of their circle knew about the names.

Captain Cold didn't seem to mind his. He chuckled and murmured, “Cute,” before asking, “And what are you called?”

They’d gone through a few options—the blur being the most popular despite Barry’s protests—but the perfect name came to him in that moment. _Here in and instant, gone in a flash_ the lyrics from one of the songs he and Cisco had sung along to earlier drifted through his thoughts. “I’m The Flash,” he said, “and I’m not a thief.”

“No?” Captain Cold asked. “But you'd make such a good one.” He stepped closer to Barry. “What else do you intend to do then, Flash? Run around and take pictures your whole life?” He circled Barry, stopping just behind him so that he had to turn around to keep his eyes on the thief. “You could do so much more than that, kid.”

Hadn’t Barry thought the same thing more than once now? That he was destined for more? That his powers were capable of more than just bringing in hits to his website?

But that didn't mean he was a thief. That didn't mean that he was going to go against the very justice system that he was aiming to join after graduation. The same system that couldn't catch his parents’ murderer…

He didn't need to decide today.

“I’m not just going to run around taking pictures,” Barry said, and he wished his voice weren’t wavering. The suit usually gave him greater confidence than dressing as dorky Barry Allen did, but he felt like Captain Cold could look through all that. Like he saw Barry and all of his weaknesses, not The Flash. “I’m going to run to Coast City for pizza. Ten pizzas. Then I’ll eat nine of them while marathoning any movie that so much as mentions Halloween. The last one is for my friend. Who is waiting for me, so…” He took a couple of steps backwards, away from Captain Cold, while hitching his thumb over his shoulder in an _I-gotta-go_ gesture. “I’ll just be…going.” He said the last word as he sped up, turning and running before he realized he was moving in the wrong direction and turned again to run past Cold, who was smirking. At least Cold couldn't see him when he was using his powers.

As he made his way out of the museum, he could have sworn he heard the man’s smooth voice say, “Be seeing you, Flash.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you like it so far! The last part will be posted this weekend.


	3. Chapter 3

“That’s the dream.”

Barry turned away from the TV screen, where Nate was explaining to the antagonist how the _Leverage_ team had fooled them all in a complicated plot that they pulled off effortlessly. Cisco was next to him, once again on the couch of their shared apartment as they had another marathon—this time _Leverage_ —and was pointing at the TV.

“What is?” Barry asked around the long straw he had poking out of a blender. There was little point in putting his milkshake in a cup when he was planning on drinking the entire blender full by himself.

Ice cream was Barry’s splurge for the week. He only allowed himself one, but he might have to even cut that back or get a third job. Even the combined efforts of student loans, his campus library job, his pizza delivery job, and weekly Sunday dinners at Joe’s wasn't enough to cover his appetite. With great speed came great stomach, apparently, and with that came great debt. Maybe he could get another delivery job. The discount on food was always a bonus, and he was able to study when he was supposed to be out for delivery, since he could do in seconds what people expected to take half an hour.

“That,” Cisco said, pulling Barry from his thoughts with another wave towards the TV. “Being the best in your field, using your skills to out maneuver others, helping the little guy—“

“Stealing,” Barry added to the list.

“Yeah,” Cisco said, rolling his eyes, “But they steal with style.”

Barry laughed. There was something enticing about the criminal fantasy, the idea of being a hacker, thief, or mastermind like on _Leverage_. His mind drifted back to Captain Cold’s offer. Barry could live out that fantasy. But did he want to? Was it just as appealing in reality?

“A few weeks ago, you told me the dream was working for STAR Labs,” Barry reminded Cisco.

“Yeah, well—“

“And when we first met, you said the dream was having superpowers.”

“I dream a lot, Barry,” Cisco said with a shameless grin. “That’s how I’ll make sure some of them come true. And one has!” Cisco laughed as he held out his hands the way he usually did when vibing.

Barry laughed too before upending the blender above his open mouth. It was empty, and Barry was still hungry. Damn. He was always hungry lately.

He bet the _Leverage_ team never went hungry. Hardison always had money for snacks, Barry thought as he watched the hacker open yet another bag of Cheetos. Maybe he should make Cheetos his splurge for next week. No, they weren’t filling enough.

His phone buzzed, and Barry checked it to find that someone had messaged him on his blog. _Flash_ the preview on the notification read. There was only one person outside of his friends that he had told that name to. Before he knew what he was doing, he’d thumbed opened the app.

_Flash_

_Our last meeting went by too fast. We should chill out and talk a little longer this time. Roof of Rathaway Industries, Central City. I'll bring pizza._

_Don’t give me the cold shoulder, kid._

_Captain Cold_

At least he has a sense of humor, Barry thought as he read through the message. The other man had taken being called by an alias so easily, and now he was using puns? Well, the puns Barry could live without. Even so, he couldn't help smiling as he read the message again.

Barry waved his phone at Cisco to get his attention. “I’ve got an errand to run. Be right back,” he said as he stood up.

“If you go somewhere good, bring me back a souvenir,” he answered without looking away from the TV.

* * *

Barry ran around traffic, up the building, and onto the roof in record time. He cleared the ledge to see Captain Cold standing there in full costume and holding a large stack of thin boxes.

He actually brought pizza.

“I love you,” Barry said without thinking before flashing forward and taking the top box. He ate half of the pie before slowing down to regular speed. Captain Cold was blinking down at Barry, who sat on the rooftop at his feet with two slices of pizza stacked on top of each other and hanging out of his mouth. Barry swallowed before resting his hand and pizza slices against the open box. “I can have this, right?” he asked. He really needed to work on thinking before acting.

Cold smirked as he joined him on the floor, placing the boxes in front of them. “Go for it, kid,” he said, sending an amused look Barry’s way.

Barry made it through the rest of his first pizza before Cold spoke again. “If you love me, does that mean that you’re accepting my offer?”

Barry choked, which led to an embarrassing coughing fit before he managed to swallow his latest bite of pizza. He really needed to start thinking before acting _or_ speaking.

“About joining your…” What was he supposed to call them? “Rogues?”

Cold laughed. “Adorable. Yes, Flash, join my Rogues.”

Barry stared down at the next box of pizza, and took his time fidgeting with the box and opening the lid. He hadn’t decided yet. The offer was tempting, more tempting by the day, but he wasn't sure if he could be a criminal. He and Cisco were only joking about it being the dream.

The dream…

“Have you seen _Leverage_?” Barry asked suddenly as he looked over at Cold. It was only then that he realized how close the other man was, because Cold straightened up at the question. Barry knew he should probably be more troubled being close to a criminal, but he didn't feel frightened or intimidated like he had the first time they met. Maybe because he was expecting to meet Cold this time, or because he looked much more normal and human sitting on the ground, or maybe because he smelled good…

“Can’t say that I have,” Cold said, his voice as deep, smooth, and cool as usual. Still, Barry would bet that he was confused by the question.

“It's about a team of thieves. Or a thief, a grifter, a hacker, a hitter, and a mastermind—people with skills unmatched by anyone else—that work together to pull cons.” He really wanted to ask if cons actually had the names that Nate and Sophie called them in the show, but he knew it wasn't the time. “They used to work alone, but then they came together to form an unstoppable team.”

Cold was smirking, but Barry knew what he had to say next might change that. “Once they came together, they got more careful about their targets. They only stole from the rich and powerful, who used that power to hurt others. Then they gave the money they stole back to the victims—“

“Not going to happen,” Cold said, definitely not smiling.

“Not that part,” Barry said, sitting straighter and shifting closer. “Though with how much I’ve heard you’ve stolen, I bet you could give _some_ to the needy.” He mumbled the last part, but spoke stronger as he continued. “But couldn't you—we—only target people who deserved to lose some of what they had? Those that made their fortune by hurting others?”

Cold stared at him for a long moment, long enough that Barry thought he'd pushed too far. He was ready to back up, to speed off, when Cold spoke again.

“What do you know about the Rathaways?”

“Um—” Barry looked down at the roof beneath him. The Rathaways? The ones who owned this building?

Cold wasn't looking for an answer though because he kept talking before Barry could admit he didn't know much.

“I met their son recently. He told me all about his parents. All about how they disowned him for coming out.” Cold tilted his head to the side, and his mouth screwed up as if he were thinking. “Now, the kid’s arrogance can get a bit annoying, but I don't think even he deserved that.”

“No one deserves that,” Barry said without missing a beat. It had taken him so long to build up the courage to tell Iris and Joe he was bi, and they’d accepted him. He couldn't imagine finding that strength and then getting kicked out for it.

“That’s what I thought,” Cold said with a nod. “So I’m planning my next heist for right here. Hartley’s going to help me steal back his inheritance.” He settled back onto the roof again, relaxing as he rested his weight back on his hands. “I’ll be taking a small fortune for myself, of course, but we’re making sure Hartley gets one too. There’s enough for you too. If you decide to give your share to charity, that’s your business.” They stared at each other while Barry tried to think of what to say. “You in?”

Barry looked between the free food and the cool criminal as he considered. The crimes committed by metas were almost never solved, and Captain Cold especially was never caught. No one in his crew was. Barry would come out of this deal having hurt someone bad, having helped someone in trouble, and probably without being suspected of being involved at all. His fridge could be full, his loans paid off, and he wouldn't have to worry about how to make rent. His training as a CSI would only ensure they left an evidence-free crime scene, not that Captain Cold ever left any evidence, if Joe’s rants were to be believed.

Captain Cold. Accepting this deal would also mean that Barry could spend more time with him. That shouldn't be such an influencing factor, but it was. Something about the man drew Barry in.

“I hear that people in the LGBT community are supposed to stick together,” Barry said with a cheeky grin, “So I guess I’m in.” He still couldn't see Cold’s eyes through the goggles, but the tilt of his head caused Barry to think that the man was giving him a long, considering look. He could practically feel Cold’s gaze travel from his head to his toes and back, and had to fight back a blush.

The whole concept of secret identities and masks was ridiculous if they were going to be working together. At least Barry thought so, so he peeled his cowl off before reaching for another slice of pizza.

It took Cold longer than Barry anticipated, but he finally took off his goggles and hood. That was how Barry found out he was right about two things: Captain Cold was attractive—unfairly attractive for someone who already had poise, charisma, and the bad boy attitude working for him—and he was definitely checking Barry out.

A shiver ran down his spine, and Barry hoped that it was at normal speed and he did _not_ just blur in front of Captain Cold. He wanted to run, to quit while he was ahead—or at least not horribly behind—but instead took another bite of pizza.

“Welcome to the team,” Cold said, smirk back in place as he grabbed his own slice of pizza.

“Thanks, Cold.”

“Len.”

Barry shouldn't have been surprised that Cold—Len—was willing to give out his name. He knew Hartley Rathaway’s, after all. “Barry.”

His smirk only grew at that, but it still looked too dangerous for Barry to call it a genuine smile.

“Welcome to the team, _Barry_.”

He was definitely dangerous. If he kept saying Barry’s name in that tone, Barry was in trouble.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might come back to this at some point to write about Barry and Len working together, Len and the Rogues meeting Barry's friends, and to develop the world more by showing the magic others have and Iris. I think it'd be a lot of fun to have Len and Mick meet Caitlin and Ronnie since they have similar powers. For right now though, this is all that I have. I hope you liked it!


End file.
